Not everyone in El Salvador is convinced by the government’s decision to make bitcoin legal tender.
In recent days, the streets of El Salvador have seen a peaceful protest against the law passed by the government of Nayib Bukele.
As shown in images published by La Prensa Grafica, a group of citizens, including trade union representatives and student associations, called for the law to be repealed, claiming that it was imposed without consulting the people.
The banners signed by Resistencia and Rebeldia read No queremos Bitcoin en El Salvador (We don’t want bitcoin in El Salvador).
In reality, the protest was also directed at the Bukele government, which is considered a regime. This is demonstrated by the presence of another banner that read: Resistencia y rebeldia popular contro el regimen de Bukele (Resistance and popular rebellion against the Bukele regime).
According to Idalia Zuniga, an activist from the Bloque de Resistencia y Rebeldía Popular, this law is wrong. She said during the demonstration:
“It is a law that generates legal uncertainty and could be used to defraud users and facilitate money laundering, and there is also a popular refusal to accept this unconsulted law.”
In fact, among the main objections is the fact that the law did not pass through the local parliament for approval.
According to La Prensa Grafica, a survey of students reveals that 77.5% of them consider the government’s decision to be unfair or not at all.
Bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador
When Nayib Bukele announced last June that bitcoin would become legal tender, he also indicated the reasons why. El Salvador’s economy relies on remittances from the United States. Remittances in bitcoin, instead of dollars, would save on commission costs.
Furthermore, bitcoin will become legal tender but will not replace the US dollar (the current currency used in El Salvador). On the contrary, the dollar and bitcoin will coexist.
In addition, a special wallet has been developed to facilitate dissemination: by downloading it, all users will have 30 dollars in bitcoin.
As of September, all this will be a reality and all that remains to be seen is the impact it will have on the population. And above all, whether the circulation of bitcoin will convince even the sceptics.
